Annville Historic District

About this property

The Annville National Historic District is a national historic district located in Annville, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of two historic districts in the community of Annville, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Originally an agricultural community with buildings constructed near the Quittapahilla Creek and various mills which had been built along those waters, the town of Annville was officially founded and developed between 1763 and 1764 with plans laid out by Andrew Miller, Abraham Raiguel and Adam Ulrich. Initially named Millerstown, the name was later changed to Annville, according to local lore, in honor of Miller's wife, Ann, or in gratitude for the support shown by Great Britain's Queen Anne to German Palatines, a significant number of whom had settled in this Lebanon County region. In addition to farming, the community also became known for its manufacture of felt and silk hats. As the community prospered, town leaders built new roads, entrepreneurs built new businesses, and local residents built new homes, expanding the town beyond its waterways and transforming the town's architectural style from primitive log cabins to Georgian stone houses and taverns to 19th century Victorian mansions and standard frame houses inhabited by working class families. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several members of Friends of Old Annville, an historic preservation group which was formed in 1978 to prevent the demolition of two historic buildings near the town center's bank, came together to prepare the nomination form to secure assistance from the National Register Review Committee in creating an official historic district in the city. The area proposed for recognition was the section of Annville's Main Street, which runs from the Quittapahilla Creek on the west end to Saylor Street on the east end. The west end of Queen Street was also included. Following its review of that application, the National Register committee officially recognized the Annville Historic District, and placed it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, making Annville the first community in Lebanon County to have a nationally recognized historic district. According to the Friends of Old Annville, this district quickly "gained national recognition as a prime example of linear development from the very early west end to the more recent east end." Protection "of that portion of Annville Township which reflects the cultural, economical, social, archaeological and architectural history of Annville Township, the State and the Nation";

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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